Our Experience in Automating Banking Communication Processes
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Our experience in automating Banking communication processes

The digital transformation in the Banking industry took its first steps at the end of the 1990s. Since then, things have come a long way since then. The arrival and democratization of smartphones pushed Banking Institutions towards home banking solutions – online platforms that give users access to information and operations without having to go to a branch or ATM.

However, not everyone knows how to use this tool and they still need technical support. This is where the next stage of digitalization comes in. The introduction of automated communication processes with clients, available 24/7.

Two examples of such systems are BEA and A.L.I.C.E. Ubiquitous assistants powered by artificial intelligence (AI) at Banco Best and Atlântico Europa (two Portuguese Banking institutions).

Problems and Solutions

Picture this: you forgot to make an important money transfer and there are no ATMs nearby. Home banking might be a solution, but you’ve never used it before, and tech-savvy is not exactly your middle name. You just finished dinner, it’s past 10 pm and there is no telephone assistance available. The solution? If you’re a Best Bank or Atlântico Europa customer, you can just open the chatbot window (on the website or Facebook Messenger) and ask “How do I transfer money?”. Both chatbots will give you some options in less than two seconds. In contrast to human assistants, these AI-powered systems can answer multiple customers at the same time. You won’t need to wait interminably in a telephone queue to get an answer to a simple question.

Chatbots not only represents a way of updating customer service for banks. They are also an effective way of reducing costs. A Juniper Research study suggests that, by 2022, each interaction with a chatbot will save banking organizations 70 cents. The answering time of customer questions will take, on average, four minutes or less. Consequently, client communication processes will save time and millions of euros.

Furthermore, with each contact, the virtual assistant may suggest a new product or service based on customer activity. According to a Hubspot report, 47% of respondents are open to buying items using a chatbot. In addition, the conversion rate is highly superior to that of traditional methods, such as email marketing campaigns, for example.

Best Bank and Atlântico Europa choose us to update their customer service operations. Do you want to know what we can do for your company? Contact us via info@visor.ai and let’s start working!

Our Chatbot Experience in Insurance
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Our chatbot experience in Insurance

Chatbots are changing the way companies communicate with their customers. In fact, Gartner predicts that next year 85% of client-enterprise communication will already be automated.

On a large scale, this technology will transform client service in multiple ways, as discussed here. Cost reduction and the possibility of having an assistant online 24/7 to help your customers are just two of the most relevant advantages of this scalable technology.

What can chatbots do for the Insurance sector?

Given their nature, the reality is that chatbots can always add something throughout the value chain of an insurance company. With so many service areas, there are many processes – like taking surveys and filling in application forms – that chatbots can facilitate. This works for clients, who can fill in forms and easily get information via their smartphones or computers, and also for workers, who gain more time to serve their clients better.

Additionally, these virtual assistants facilitate the often long buying process and can suggest other types of products based on customer behavior. The fact that everything is done via messaging apps, a preference of the Millennial generation – noted as one of the worst insurance buyers – is also a point in favor of chatbots.

Practical cases

In Tranquilidade, one of the big Portuguese insurance companies, our chatbot proved useful in many ways.

“This technology was introduced to the company as a proof of concept. With a low budget, Visor was challenged to show us if it was worth investing in this technology,” said Head of Operations, João Luís Marques

“We quickly realized it was fast to implement, user-friendly and created value for our clients because it not only opens a new communication channel, but it also brings us closer to our digital-savvy customers, who will gradually increase in number, even in a 100-year-old company like ours,” adds João.

“We’re ‘teaching’ the bot on a daily basis. The company can now answer in a more autonomous way and we will soon have a transaction feature in use. This is, without a doubt, a technology to publicize our latest deals and offers.”

Tranquilidade also told us that one of their deaf clients, used the chatbot multiple times to get information about the procedure following an accident, which shows that this technology could also help companies to adopt more socially inclusive practices.

Chatbots can always be a plus to companies. However, businesses can lose potential clients when they don’t meet customers’ expectations. This means that if your enterprise wants to invest in a chatbot, it must be one that works according to your expectations.

Reach us via info@visor.ai and find out what we can do for your relationship with your customers. 

The Challenges of a Successful Chatbot Implementation
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The challenges of a successful chatbot implementation

Chatbot: one of the technologies companies are adopting to improve their operations. Although it’s a key tool to represent your business and serve your clients better, there are several challenges associated with its implementation:

Create value for your customers

Ask yourself this: will the implementation of a chatbot create value for my business? If so, how?

An advanced chatbot is not worth it if it doesn’t create value for the customer journey – it’s important to understand whether the investment is worth it.

Ask yourself if this technology will:
  • Improve the company’s communication with its clients;
  • Give more time to workers which they can devote to better customer care;
  • Be used by your stakeholders.

Meet your audience

It’s also vital to know which of your customers will use this tool – which, after all, would become obsolete if there were no customers to help. As such, our advice is to assess the age groups of your target and to understand who interacts more with your website and social networks – the hosts of your new tool.

Abide by the Privacy and Security regulation

Making sure your clients feel secure and that their privacy is uncompromised is of paramount importance. This is an increasing concern among consumers, which means that questions asked by chatbots should be restricted to those that are strictly necessary and people should be informed they are communicating under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Additionally, it’s vital that the network hosting the chatbot is protected against possible hacking attacks. These features are especially important in businesses that deal with sensitive information, such as the Banking, Healthcare and Insurance sectors.

Make the chatbot “human”

We know. It might seem strange to talk about making a robot more human, but even if people know that they are talking to a chatbot, they want an easy, fluid and, more importantly, a fast interaction. So, the idea behind these systems is to ease communication with a business and a bad experience with a robot might well have the opposite outcome.

To become more efficient and be able to attract and retain Internet users, chatbots must be useful, careful, trustworthy and likable – bear in mind that this will be the first interaction that most of your clients will have when meeting your business.

Ongoing commitment with the chatbot

It’s equally important that there’s an ongoing commitment to the maintenance of this system. We must stress that, if there’s no one in charge of the maintenance of the chatbot, there’s a high chance that, sooner or later, the assistant will have issues. However, this isn’t complex, so you can hand this task to an IT junior employee.

To know where the customer experience with the chatbot starts and ends

Another barrier you may well come across when trying to implement a chatbot is the idea that people would rather communicate with other people than with robots – a subject discussed in “Are we ready to communicate with chatbots?”.

Despite their ability to transform the customer experience, chatbots can’t fix everything. Therefore it’s important to define where the customer journey starts and ends with these assistants and where it begins with humans, better able to help customers with complex problems.

Costs

Lastly and probably one of the most relevant questions is: “How much are we spending on creating and implementing a chatbot that is efficient and creates value for our customers?” You might be surprised by the answer – contact us via info@visor.ai and let us show you what we can do for your company.

Are We Ready to Communicate with Chatbots
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Are we ready to communicate with chatbots?

We’ve entered a phase of the digital era in which “artificial intelligence” and “virtual assistants” are on the agenda. The stories from the 80s and 90s  we saw on the big screens are now a reality. In our modern world, where robots are becoming more human, there’s something we must ask: are you ready to communicate with a robot or a chatbot?

“A chatbot? What is that?” – you may ask.

Even if you don’t know, it’s likely that you’ve already communicated with one. Surprisingly, the device you’re using to read this article may have one of these systems.

“Oh really?”

Yes. And, if this wasn’t amazing enough, these digital robots are available in two categories:

In virtual assistants. Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana are some of the examples available on the market. These kinds of chatbots, usually available on smartphones, are equipped with artificial intelligence and machine learning. Two features that enable them to learn and understand what they’re asked.

Or in messaging apps, which companies are adopting to solve basic questions and to have a customer service available 24/7. These assistants are available on platforms like Facebook Messenger, WeChat, LinkedIn, and, more frequently, on institutional websites.

So, it’s probable that you’ve already talked to a chatbot without realizing it. According to a study by Drift, in 2017, 15% of the respondents had communicated with a messaging chatbot. But are people ready to communicate with chatbots if they know they’re talking to a robot?

63% of people say “yes” to chatbots

Studies show us that yes – we are ready.  Humanity in the Machine report indicates that 63% of people are predisposed to communicate with a brand or a business via chatbot. Another study points out that 29% of consumers would rather contact businesses via chatbot, more than those who would rather do it by email (27%).

Among millennials, a generation whose behavior partly differs from its predecessors for preferring to communicate with messages, 48% say they’re ready to receive recommendations of advice from chatbots, as reported by research from DigitasLBI.

All these studies point to a positive scenario should companies use these modern tools in their operations. However…

Consumers are not willing to deal with bad chatbots

Although they are ready to connect with robots, consumers are not ready to carry out a conversation with bad chatbots. The same study from DigitasLBI indicates that 73% of Americans wouldn’t contact a company via chatbot again if they had a bad experience initially. Humanity in the Machine points in the same direction with the conclusion that 61% of people find robots that can’t answer something more frustrating than if it’s a person.

So, are we ready to communicate with chatbots? Yes, but if companies want to create value with these systems, they need an efficient assistant that’s capable of answering the simple questions that customers ask.

Are you ready to adopt chatbots? Contact us via info@visor.ai and let us introduce you to this brand new world.